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1892–2024
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Communities

Who lives where — and how they vote. Each community is the counties and cities most defined by one demographic, set on a single scale from how the nation’s reddest ground votes to its bluest, and measured for how tightly that one fact predicts the vote. It is the column nobody else publishes.

The political spectrum of American communities

Every community placed by how its core counties actually voted in 2024, ordered by how strongly the demographic predicts the presidential margin across all ~2,800 counties. Position and color are the vote; the bar is the strength of the link.

R+70.0evenD+30.0
  1. 1Most educatedEducationD+25.8moderate · r +0.59
  2. 2Least educatedEducationR+54.9moderate · r +0.59
  3. 3WhiteRace & ethnicityR+59.2moderate · r −0.50
  4. 4Most urbanPopulation densityD+26.9moderate · r +0.49
  5. 5Most ruralPopulation densityR+65.3moderate · r +0.49
  6. 6$200k+ householdsIncome & classD+14.6moderate · r +0.47
  7. 7AsianRace & ethnicityD+19.8moderate · r +0.44
  8. 8BlackRace & ethnicityD+20.5moderate · r +0.41
  9. 9Evangelical ProtestantReligionR+59.0moderate · r −0.38
  10. 10Highest incomeIncome & classD+1.2mild · r +0.33

Ancestry

Self-reported ancestry (ACS table B04006), as a share of total population.
  1. IrishR+3.5r −0.02
  2. ItalianR+4.2r +0.32
  3. FrenchR+13.0r +0.10
  4. ScottishR+25.6r +0.04
  5. PolishR+28.5r +0.11
  6. NorwegianR+31.4r +0.03
  7. GermanR+41.8r −0.13
  8. EnglishR+51.4r −0.21
  9. AmericanR+58.5r −0.33

Race & ethnicity

Race and Hispanic/Latino ethnicity shares (ACS).
  1. BlackD+20.5r +0.41
  2. AsianD+19.8r +0.44
  3. HispanicR+22.5r +0.12
  4. WhiteR+59.2r −0.50

Language

Language spoken at home for the population 5 and older (ACS table C16001).
  1. Other than EnglishR+11.2r +0.29
  2. Spanish at homeR+21.7r +0.13

Income & class

Household income, affluence, and poverty (ACS tables B19013, B19001, S1701).
  1. $200k+ householdsD+14.6r +0.47
  2. Highest incomeD+1.2r +0.33
  3. Highest povertyR+4.2r −0.01
  4. Lowest incomeR+21.4r +0.33

Education

Adults 25 and older with at least a bachelor’s degree (ACS subject table S1501).
  1. Most educatedD+25.8r +0.59
  2. Least educatedR+54.9r +0.59

Age

Median age (ACS).
  1. YoungestR+17.8r −0.16
  2. OldestR+30.9r −0.16

Population density

Residents per square mile — how urban or rural a place is (Census TIGER land area). Counties only.
  1. Most urbanD+26.9r +0.49
  2. Most ruralR+65.3r +0.49

Religion

Adherence by tradition (2020 U.S. Religion Census, ASARB), as a share of total population.
  1. Black ProtestantR+1.8r +0.22
  2. CatholicR+18.9r +0.27
  3. Mainline ProtestantR+40.2r −0.08
  4. Latter-day SaintsR+49.5r −0.16
  5. Evangelical ProtestantR+59.0r −0.38

Source. Demographics — U.S. Census American Community Survey 2024 5-year; adherence — 2020 U.S. Religion Census (ASARB); density — Census TIGER land area; the vote — MIT Election Lab · counties and cities ≥ 5,000 population; each community’s median margin is taken across its top 100 counties, and the correlation over every eligible county. A place can be demographically homogeneous and politically split — which is exactly what these indexes are built to show. Real returns — nothing estimated.